by Nikolay Nyashin

Nuclear plants are just like any other large industrial facility. The overwhelming feeling I got when I visited the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant in New York was that of déjà vu. I specifically remembered Fleet Week in New York City. This is a week where US Navy vessels come to the New York piers and open themselves to the public. These aren’t museums, but active warships, with certain sections cordoned off for visitors. Military activity continues quickly, efficiently, regardless of whether civilians are aboard.

That’s the feeling I got when I visited the power plant: measured efficiency, extreme caution. I appreciated it. Before the visit, I had a few misconceptions about the nature of nuclear facilities and nuclear power. I didn’t believe that they were as scary as some sources would have you believe, but I did have some misgivings, based on the experiences of my family, and the little I knew about nuclear power from other sources. I’m glad to say that this bias has been dispelled by the visit, and the comprehensive tour that accompanied it.

The origin of that bias lies with my family’s experiences with nuclear energy. My parents lived in Ukraine in the 1980s, and experienced the effects of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown firsthand. My parents lived in Kiev in 1986, which isn’t too far from the where the meltdown and subsequent radiation outpour happened.

My sister was just four years old at the time, and was evacuated south, to Crimea. She got a dose of radiation that made her hair fall out and permanently damaged her teeth. According to my dad, his father’s his health worsened immediately, and he soon died of cancer. With these stories circulating in my family, I obviously had negative view of nuclear power, if I ever thought about it. Anything that damaged people so badly must be bad, I reasoned.

It’s not like I thought about nuclear energy or its implications very much, until now. I didn’t know that so much of the electricity in New York was generated using nuclear power. I assumed there was a big hydroelectric plant in Niagara Falls, or something like that. It turns out, however, that nuclear power is responsible for hefty percentage of the New York State’s power generation, and close to half of New York City’s. Nuclear power can’t be disregarded, as it is such an important component of our energy infrastructure.

Delving deeper into the history and current use of nuclear energy alleviated many of concerns with safety. It turned out the accident at Chernobyl was more a result of mismanagement than a technological breakdown. If certain procedures had been adhered to, the accident would have completely avoided.

The experience of going to an active power plant and seeing everything first hand cemented my thoughts on the subject. We arrived early in the morning, and passed through several security checkpoints. Identification was checked, we went through searches, metal detectors, scanners, all operated by armed personnel. Of all the things I saw at the place, the thing that impressed me the most was the high level of security. Every gate and door needed a keycard or a code or at least an escort. Nobody could break into this place, even if it was worth breaking into.

We met with our guide Patrick, a veteran of the plant, and an ardent advocate of nuclear energy. He gave the group a comprehensive presentation about the plant’s history and current operation, as well as the problems the plant faces in the near future.

The plant’s history is interesting. It was the first commercial nuclear power plant, and opened in 1962. Additional reactors were added to it, and today there are two active reactors at the site, which each generate 1000 MW, and provide about 31% of New York State’s power.

The plant does not have the distinctive cooling towers which are popularly associated with nuclear power plants. Instead, water is drawn directly from the Hudson River, on the banks of which the plant stands. The cold water is sucked in through a pipe and circulated to cool another pipe full of water, which circulates to cool yet another water pipe. The water in this last pipe is the one that comes in contact with the radioactive material. Since there are so many levels of separation between the river water and the water that is in contact with radioactive material, there is no danger of contamination.

The purpose of this water is cooling the reactor and providing steam to turn the turbine. Nuclear reactors, like almost all other electricity generating plants, work by turning turbines with steam. The decay of radioactive elements like uranium releases large amounts of energy. This energy heats the circulating water, which evaporates. This steam is funneled into a turbine, which it spins. The spin generates electricity.

The reactor is protected by a huge concrete dome. The dome is there to keep radiation in, in the unlikely event of a steam explosion, and keep attackers out. Our guide showed us a couple of videos in which scientists tested the strength of the protective dome. In the experiment, jet fighters, missiles and even a passenger airline were sent into the dome. Each time, the attacking object was pulverized into atoms. The concrete was, at most, scratched. This demonstrates that there’s nothing to fear from would be terrorists attempting to attack the facility.

The facilities safety features are extensive and comprehensive. The most important thing that needs to be protected and maintained is the reactor. This is the power house of the plant, and generates the heat needed to turn water to steam.

The reactor is in a large shielded room which houses fuel assemblies. Fuel assemblies are collections of rods filled with pellets of uranium. The assemblies are quite large, and are kept in a vat of purified, constantly circulating water.

To begin the decomposition of the uranium, neutrons are fired at the uranium pellets. As the uranium decays, heat is released. To control the speed of decay, it is necessary to control the amount of neutrons that are bombarding the fuel assemblies at a given time. There are two method used to regulate the neutrons.

The first is to lower control rods into the vat where the fuel assemblies are held. These control rods are made of materials like graphite that soak up neutrons, preventing them from interacting with the uranium. Another way to regulate the neutron activity is by controlling the water’s pH using boric acid, which also stops the neutrons from reaching the uranium.

Before leaving the conference room and beginning the tour, our guide told us about some of the problems that the Indian Point and all US nuclear plants face. These were mostly related to government overregulation. According to our guide, the federal government, and the government of New York State in particular are very hostile to nuclear power. It seems this is reflective of the wider fear of nuclear power among the general population, which I too shared until recently.

Many of the regulations, said our guide, made sense. Inspections, drills, equipment checks are mandated, and help keep the plant in good working order. Other rules ranged from impractical to downright silly. One deals with the environmental impact of the plant taking water out of the Hudson River, which seems like a sound concern. Fish and their spawn were being sucked into the pipe, which harmed the biodiversity of the area. To alleviate the problem, the plant installed a grate and special system to prevent fish from getting into the pipe. The system worked 98% of the time, but some fish eggs were still getting through.

A more serious problem is the storage and recycling of nuclear waste. After uranium is used in the reactor for a certain period, it is taken to cool down, and, presumably, be transported to a waste storage and recycling facility. After used uranium has cooled, much of it can be reused in future reactions.

According to US law however, it is illegal to transport nuclear waste out of the nuclear plant facility. The law is a result of nuclear policies proposed by President Carter, and has remained because of continued public ignorance about the nature of nuclear waste. If it could be transported, the waste could be repurposed and could continue to generate power. As things stand now, the Indian Point facility stores waste in concrete barrels on its property.

The storage method is sound, and there is no danger in storing nuclear material this way. It is extremely wasteful, though. The reasoning is that radiation from the waste would be harmful, and there is the chance of hijack by groups wishing to use the nuclear material to create atomic weapons. The transports would have radiation shielding, and even if a tech savvy evil doers were to capture some of the waste, there is only one percent in each batch that can, theoretically, become weaponizable plutonium. Unfortunately, the federal government persists in supporting the regulation, and is the only government worldwide to do this.

A regulation that threatens the future operation of the plant is the renewal of licenses. Originally, nuclear power plants were licensed to operate for forty years. This law was enacted at the very beginning of nuclear power plant exploitation, when it wasn’t yet known how long a nuclear power plant could operate safely, if at all. In the elapsed forty years it has been proven that nuclear plants can operate at full efficiency, as long as they are maintained properly, for an indefinite period.

Currently, the Indian Point Facility is in the process of renewing its license so that it can continue operating. Our guide told us that the state government has been putting up roadblocks, since the current leadership is decidedly anti nuclear. Whether this is because of a genuine, if misplaced, concern for the health of the surrounding area, or some sort political deal, is unclear.

Regardless, the plant’s license should be renewed and should continue its operation. It supplies such a large amount of power to the state and city that it has become indispensible. Coupled with the fact it is a completely safe facility, the imperative to continue its operation is clear.

After presenting these facts to the group, our guide gave out safety equipment in the form of helmets, safety glasses and ear plugs, and we began the tour. We left the office building where the presentation had been showed, and entered the plant proper. We passed a fence and a few guard towers. We reached one of the two reactors and went in.

The whole plant hummed with the sound of the turbine. The group made its way to the room which housed the turbine, heading down corridors guarded by security cameras. We passed the control of the plant, which looked a bit like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. The control room’s only window was thick layer of bulletproof glass. In the case of an emergency, the room could be sealed with a massive door, something like the door of a bank vault.

Upon reaching the turbine room, our guide told us to put the ear plugs in. They were definitely required. Even with them in, the roar of the spinning turbine was still audible. It stands in at the center of a large, warehouse-like room; part of it was exposed, and we could see how fast the turbine was turning.

Then we ventured underneath the turbine, into the bowels of the plant. This was where the water exchange occurred and where all of the steam was pumped through. It wasn’t much of a sight: a sub basement filled with a maze of pipes. Some of the pipes had little windows in them, and bubbling water was visible. Plant workers made their way from pipe to pipe, checking various gauges and looking through the little windows.

We passed through the plant and made outside, onto the river facing portion of the plant. A courtyard filled with construction and industrial equipment faced the Hudson River. Looking at the plant behind us we noticed strange black boxes rising from the roof. Our guide told us that these were machine gun turrets. They were there in case a river attack was ever attempted.

The machine gun emplacements impressed me. Earlier, Patrick had told us that the government has a special team of military experts that checks up nuclear facilities nationwide. Former commandos and Special Forces operatives are tasked with bypassing plant security. They are allowed free movement within the plant for several weeks in order to plan their attack. Then, they carry that plan out, with dummy weapons on both sides. According to our guide, the plant has not been breached once by this team in all of its years of operation.

Looking back toward the river, our guide showed us the water intake pipe, and the device that is supposed to prevent fish from entering the pipe. Next, we visited a mock control room, which is used in the plant as classroom. Prospective plant operators spend several years being training, and are strictly tested. Once they receive certification, the operators are tested once a year for the rest of their careers.

Our guide told us that the job of the operators of the plant is to prevent the plant from stopping, rather than to keep it running. The reactor is designed in such a way that if it does not receive certain inputs, it shuts down automatically to prevent any mishap. The operators are the ones who provide this input.

The whole plant is completely mechanical, there are no digital regulators. The plant is not connected to the internet, and none of its essential systems are computerized. This is done so that computer hacking is an impossibility. There is nothing to hack.

We walked back around the plant, through and through another security checkpoint. This time, we were also scanned for radiation. The group made our way back to the car and left.

As we rode away, I felt that I had learned quite a lot about nuclear power. My earlier fears had been alleviated and I was happy to learn that the plant was safe and secure. The security of the plant isn’t the most important factor, though. It’s the energy generation that’s really the star.

No other method of electricity production is as clean, efficient and environmentally friendly as nuclear power. There is no emission of greenhouse gases from the operation of the plant. According to Patrick, one pellet of uranium, which weighs a few grams, has the potential to produce the same amount of energy as one ton coal. That’s more efficient than any other currently available energy generation technology.

In the United States today, the overwhelming majority of electricity is produced by the burning of fossil fuels like oil and coal. These resources are currently abundant and cheap, but are inefficient when compared to nuclear. They are also much more finite. Predictions have the global supply of oil running out by the middle of this century. Nuclear is a great alternative, for its efficiency and its neutral impact on the environment.

Fossil fuels emit greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane when they are burned in the process of electricity generation. The decomposition of uranium atoms produces no such harmful elements.

Nuclear waste that is produced can be reprocessed, and would be if not for the regulations which exist in the United States. The waste that cannot be recycled is safely stored in radiation proof tanks, away from the population.

It seems that nuclear power is the best way to go, considering its efficiency, low cost and safety. In fact, countries around the world are taking advantage of the technology and using it themselves. A great example mentioned by our guide is France.

France produces all of its electricity through nuclear power plants. Nuclear power is as popular in France as it is unpopular in the United States. The government there went on an aggressive campaign to convince its people that nuclear power was safe and beneficial, and that campaign was effective. Now, France is a net exporter of electricity, and sells its excess power to countries like Italy, which has little native electricity generation.

To achieve this high level of public support for nuclear energy, the nuclear power plants were opened to the public for tours. Public awareness campaigns helped people accept nuclear power and dispel their fears. For the United States to open more nuclear power plants, a similar program would probably have to be enacted. Currently, special permission and background checks are necessary to tour nuclear power plants, and it’s very difficult to get a tour.

This seems, unfortunately, impossible, since most of our government is directly opposed to nuclear power. When the government does focus on new sources of energy, if brings up wind and soar. These are great options, but they don’t have the power and potential that nuclear power plants do. With all of this in mind, I believe that nuclear power is the right way forward for the United States and the world.